There are some dreams worth telling other people about.

This is an article about how to turn any work into spiritually fulfilling practice through the practice of mindfulness. It also deals with beginning work (employed or otherwise) that you’ll find more rewarding than where you may be currently (dropping the ‘day job’ or following a calling).

Work – More Than Just Effort Expended

Work is much more than energy expended with the intent of a achieving certain outcome. True, many of us equate a ‘day job’ with work, and grudgingly do tolerable yet unfulfilling work to earn currency and keep ourselves sustained. But, are you familiar with doing work not just for the sake of achieving results, but for what the process does for you, as you work?

If you have ever played, then yes you are familiar with it.

You see, it’s when your play starts generating things that others find useful when it becomes most valuable work indeed.

Work As Spiritual Practice

Work is a spiritual practice if it is given your full attention and not simply seen as a means to an end, but an experience to be had. In the spiritual practice you are fully in the present of the activity. You can know that there will be an outcome, a finished project, but you want to be a human being in the work, not just a mechanism working towards eventual results [although results will likely come]. Of course, you don’t need to be fully in the moment to see results, and most every day we complete tasks, projects and assignments, and hit deadlines, even though pushing ourselves through all manner of pain and discomfort to get there on time. That’s one way to do it but can be a great way to suck the fun out of what you may have previously enjoyed (I know, I’ve been there).

Similarly, some work is obviously spiritual practice by it’s very nature. Think of the good Christian people who run a sanctuary for the homeless, or the Taoist practitioner who heals people with acupuncture. This doesn’t mean that your job in data processing is completely devoid of all spirit. It just depends how you practice it.

This spiritual practice can help you deal with drudgery, should it be a problem for you.

How The Spiritual Practice Can Improve Your Work

If you come at it as an exercise in mindfulness, any work becomes more than just effort expended. It becomes an experience. This can also bring the enjoyment back into the work. If the experience is deep enough the work can become play. Think about it, there are no future critics decrying you. The only critic that matters right now as you work is you. And you can choose to acknowledge your criticism, thank the part of you that has offered it up and seek to direct this criticism in a productive manner. There’s an often quoted NLP aphorism that says ‘failure is feedback’. It is a handy belief to have.

Part of the problem is the sharp delineation between work and play. In a way, the delineation is helpful, it allows us to switch on and switch off from work mode. Helps in the work, life balance, right? True. On the flipside though it encourages a binary mindset in which we see one half of life simply as the means to live another. Terrible balance. Yes, you are allowed to be happy (dare I say supposed to be happy?) in your work time, and finding your real Work is definitely a great way to do this.

Diversion – Getting Out Of Your Mind Is Good For Your Work

Remember how lots of bands go on about how they do their best work when they are on drugs? There’s a reason. No doubt part of it is a reduction in inhibition due to the relaxing effects of the drugs. Part of it is due to the increased creative associations that come about from seeing a world decorated by dancing pink elephants. But part of it comes from the fact that these drugs allow people a little spiritual headspace and distance for their closely associated egos. This I think is especially true with powerful hallucinogens, and though it may be extremely hard to write any music in a full-blown trip, the implications of that trip on your thinking, personal perspective and later creative work may be profound.

Note I’m not telling you to take drugs and ‘become creative’. I’m just saying that they’re an unconventional weapon for your arsenal, if you are so inclined. This probably works a little better in vocations such as writing science fiction, than it would in sales. Saying that, in some industries it is a time honoured tradition for salesman to schmooze big clients with expensive drinks. And yes, alcohol is a drug like any other, no matter how legal it is.

Mushrooms. They make you creative. Maybe.

The Little Voice Is More Than Just A Pain In The Head

Think of a time when the work is hard. For example; you are feeling bad with yourself. Perhaps the little voice in your head is telling you how much “this sucks“. I know mine does sometimes. Acknowledge that a part of you believes that this sucks and just accept it. When you aren’t fighting, censoring or second guessing yourself, or trying to deny that in some way the work is bad, you can be more constructive and less stressed. “This sucks?” – OK, ask that little voice where it sucks and you could be closer to finding how you can improve it.

In this way any negativity that is plaguing you can become a kind of internal constructive criticism. Isn’t that great? You get your own feedback before you’ve even asked for a critique from others. This is definitely an example of being in touch with your feelings. It can even be as simple as this; things that make you feel bad are subtle signs that you are either coming at this activity in an uncomfortable way, or that perhaps this is an activity you shouldn’t be doing.

Feedback: A self corrective means for finding a better direction

Here Is How I Use This Practice In My Work…

In my work I try to connect with the timeless. This is important to me, as I have a tendency to lock myself into tasks and the day to day, and although I like to think of myself as a spiritual person, I often become very ungrounded. Doing this is a way to remind me that I am a spiritual being having a human experience, and not the other way round. It is through this that I gain spiritual nourishment, and fill my demanding personal needs to be ever creating new things! It is my surrogate for meditation, since I do not practice it. Well, not enough anyway…

If you get this spiritual practice right you can fulfil your creative needs, spiritual needs, and possibly even your financial needs (if you can make an income out of your Work)

How To ‘Do’ Mindfulness

"Mindfulness practice is simple and completely feasible. Just by sitting and doing nothing, we are doing a tremendous amount." - Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

You don’t really do anything in mindfulness. You be. Any situation can be observed from the perspective of your higher self, but you need time to get into that perspective. Enlightenment can strike like lightning, but more often than not is a process of undoing and allowing. What does that mean? It means you can step out of ego and look at what you do from the perspective of an impartial observer I can only describe as the ‘authentic you’.

Enlightenment: to lighten something, or make it less heavy. Namely your head.

Mindfulness can be approached and defined as meditation.  In meditation we are often encouraged focus on one thing, such as our breathing or a word repeated as a mantra. We give as much attention to this activity as possible and allow the seething thoughts to pass away like fluffy clouds in a strong wind. As they are stripped away we reveal more and more of an authentic self and begin to feel a sense of peace. It’s fucking awesome.

Mindfulness is simple. You don’t need a step-by-step guide or a ton of information to overcomplicate it. It’s like love. You don’t need to be told how to experience love (though you may have taken advice on how to express love). Nevertheless here are some ideas to inspire a little connection with your higher self…

Simple tips for ‘getting’ the simple joy of being at work

Be like a stone, resolute and unaffected.

You are reminding yourself to focus on a single thing, action or aspect of your work.

So, focus on your breathing as you work

As you work, just breathe.

Put aside all thoughts of the past (rumination) and the future (worry) and stay in the present (mindfulness). Everything is fine here and now. Just be here.

Simply say to yourself ‘in’ with your inhale and ‘out’ with your exhales.

Your mind will wander. This is fine, when you notice this, just notice how it has wandered, and then go back to counting in and out. When it wanders off again do the same. Think of it as a small child who likes to run off and explore and show it the same compassion, not frustration.

Focus on the sensations in your body as you work. Are you alert? Tired? Having fun? Slightly bored? Don’t judge how it feels, just recognise what it is like.

Focus on the work itself. If you are writing, how does the pen feel in your hand? If you are typing, how does it feel to bring your thoughts out onto the computer screen. How does the work really make you feel? Are you enthralled by it? Bored? Don’t judge, just feel. Judging all these feelings is unnecessary intellectual activity.

Just see yourself there doing the work. Be like a rock that types or writes or checks the mail, rocks can do these things…

Now look outwards, further to your environment.

Notice the specific things in that environment. Notice how the boss has his own room, or the how the work area of a messy co-worker makes you feel. What do you see everyday but take for granted? Be mindful of the little things that all together make up that workplace. What’s the ceiling look like? Ever thought about the meaning of those strange squiggles etched into your desk?

Another way to feel is through your ears. Try just listening. Focusing on what you hear in the workplace. I always notice that if I listen for it, that there is an everpresent background noise. That 50hz mains hum that you get everywhere in the UK. On top of that you hear all kinds of other little sounds. Wood creaking, fans spinning, the quiet whooshing sound of car wheels running across tarmac. The quiet sounds that people make as they concentrate.

If you are in a more rural area your sonic palette may be a little different. You may hear birds singing, wind rustling in the forested areas. Farmyard animals doing what they do. The more you listen, the more you notice that each area has it’s own particular sound. This form of mindfulness becomes sensory discovery, but careful, too much exploring can take you away from the original purpose of your meditation, which is simple mindfulness!

The mindful exploration of soundscapes is good spiritual practice. Probably especially so for the sound designer!

The Benefits of Mindfulness…

What do you get from all of this noticing anyway?

Mindfulness has many benefits, and everyone gains something unique from the experience. Perhaps you start to see the smaller things in your environment?  Perhaps you gain a new perspective on what you may have previously taken for granted? Perhaps you notice how wonderful something really is, or how something isn’t as bad as it seems?  It is usually quite different for everyone. The general consensus is that whatever you feel, it is a definite improvement; once you break through the resistance you have built up to simply being present and noticing. In fact, the whole thing is remarkably easy, with the hard part often being motivated enough and receptive to actually taking some time out.

Myself, when fully mindful I experience the world as a living and interconnected thing, which I am an integral part of (which I suppose is true!). When I breathe I feel like something is breathing me, or that I am breathing in synchrony with everything else. My words cheapen the experience.

You may also find that mindfulness makes your working time less stressful.  Mindfulness is already being used clinically as simple stress intervention. If you feel the weight coming down on your shoulders, or the day becoming a bit too much, a few mindful minutes of being may be all the space you need. It is of course important that this time to be is all for you. Co-workers need to know when you are unable to take phonecalls or put out new fires, which is obviously no help if some time for mindfulness is your aim!

Again, just observe your thoughts and ‘feel’ where the stress is coming from. Sometimes it will feel like it is localised in one place, and other times it may feel like it is enveloping you all over. But stress is just a feeling, and the negative effects diminish when you are mindful not to associate with it.

The perceptive changes you get are fantastic for your creativity too. How? Seeing things a little differently may allow you to derive inspiration from a new perspective that simple awareness has given you. Simply put; see the world differently, experience it differently.

Think of it like seeing a horror film. A good horror film should scare you, right? Yet, most of the actual horror is caused by suspense and uncertainty, and when the antagonist is really revealed, the film usually turns into an ‘action’ movie. This is as the heroes face and overcome this previously unknown foe. So sometimes it is better just to know the nature of the beast. Knowing gives us confidence, and confidence helps us prevail.

Can the unconfident singer give a show stopping performance? –  Sure, it’s possible, but it’s harder to raise the roof with self-doubt hanging over it!

The Xenomorphs from Aliens were a little less scary when we finally got to see them in more detail, getting shot to pieces by the Colonial Marines…

Mindfulness – The Benefits As Reported By Others

I did some research (I Googled..) and here are some of the additional benefits I found touted for mindfulness practice

1. Improved focus and concentration
2. Deepen and get in touch with intuitive wisdom and insights.
3. Enhance the quality of relationships and communication by greater compassion
4. Strengthen self-confidence and faith.
5. Awaken more authenticity, heart, soul, and caring in our lives and work.
6. Reduce stress anxiety and depression.
7. Increase openness to new situations and change.
8. Deepen peace of mind and sense of flow. Increase emotional and spiritual resiliency, master stress.
9. Awaken more authenticity, heart, soul, and caring in our lives and work.

Are you sold yet?

Mindfulness – A State Of Being, Not An Occasional Activity

See, mindfulness shouldn’t really be something that you schedule in to your busy life. It is more a way to live. Like a more correct walking posture that leads to less bodily strain, or a way of thinking about people so that you see their better qualities. It is practiced more as a reminder of how things can go, And mindfulness isn’t something that is confined to any one area either. There are many examples of it practiced in the day to day, purposefully or accidentally, and here are some examples for you..

Sports: You see this in a way that certain sports people focus. There is very little self-consciousness hindering their game. They are in what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi termed in his ground-breaking book of the same name as ‘flow’. They are immersed completely within the sport they are practicing. Never mind the thousands of people watching them in the stadium, the hundreds of thousands of people watching them on national television or the many competitors surrounding them. Their will is bent on winning that gold or catching that ball. Amongst that noisy, crowded, pressure filled world they are completely alone with themselves and their goal. That is flow!

"A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe." - Csikszentmihalyi

Intellectual activities: Mathematicians, philosophers and similar deep thinkers also go into immersive states where they perform mental feats comparable to the finest physical athletes. The mathematician who delves so deep into solving an abstract proof that he forgets to eat dinner and go to sleep for a few days. Or the two philosophers who debate a heated issue with such intellectual intensity that they focus only on their opponent and his counterarguments. They’ve phased out the everpresent audience who are observing the debate, and expend all their mental energy on a sort of intellectual duel.

In the film Good Will Hunting, you can see Matt Damon portraying a kind of intense focus as his character solves extremely complicated mathematical problems.

Ever Had ‘Flow?’

You too have probably experienced flow if you have ever been consciously immersed in an activity where you barely noticed the passage of time as you worked. Similarly you may notice flow when you feel a completely unhindered sense of activity within what you do. We’ve all had times when absolutely everything went our way. Perhaps you knew exactly what to say to diffuse that situation, or the steps you had to take to avoid that punch.  Perhaps you sat at the typewriter and you couldn’t get the words down fast enough, or you picked up your guitar and your fingers started writing the song for you. You were mindful in the sense that you were absorbed in that activity. You gave the task your full attention and the task gave you something magical back.

Caveat: I appreciate that with the variety of work we do and the stresses of different environments that some jobs may seem like particularly hard places to practice mindfulness. Practicing compassion and mindfulness as you run somebody down for stealing a bag or are getting chewed out by an aggravated customer may seem daunting. Perhaps it is such stressful environments that need mindfulness most.

Stephen Pressfield Described It…

Stephen Pressfield, author of bestselling Gates of Fire and many other great novels also wrote a book called The War Of Art. Apart from being hilarious and an insightful look into the life of a successful author, the book speaks about the importance of doing The Work. You know what The Work is; it is different for everybody. Some call it ‘the calling’. It is whatever comes sacred and naturally to you. It is whatever you feel compelled to do with your life.

This man knows all about The War Of Art.

For example, the painter must paint, the poet must write poetry. Everyone has Work. It could even be cooking, financial accounting or how you dress yourself. You have a personal creative area where you are particularly talented and inspired. It is a deeply personal space for innovation and one that must be expressed.

This work is spiritual practice in the sense that doing it is what you need for your authentic self. I don’t think that mindfulness makes mundane work ‘The Work’ – that’d be like repainting a broken car and then trying to take it out for a spin. However, I do think mindful practice of your regular work can bring you closer to finding what works for you.

And as I said before, it can make the whole thing a far more pleasant experience, regardless.

Outro – My Work

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that I’ve written this article as a spiritual practice. I didn’t really have much of a plan for it apart from how I wanted to discuss the subject of work as a spiritual. This is not to say that I won’t write from a plan, in fact I think it is often essential. Fail to plan, plan to fail and so on. In this instance though it was just not necessary. It has been a joy to write, as I have not had to actually suffer through thinking what I need to write. And anything that brings you a sense of inner joy with no ill effects on others must have some spiritual value.

Over the years I have found part of my Work is to write. So, you’ve honoured me by acknowledging my work through reading it. But what do you need to do next? That of course is down to you. I wish you the best…

TLDR;

• The division of life into ‘work’ and ‘play’ probably isn’t the best thing for you in the long term.
• If you aren’t making an income out of your passion, you very well could be. Do you feel something stopping you?
• If you aren’t in that wonderful position yet – consider some exercises in mindfulness that will help you get through your current work (see above)
• Mindfulness has a ton of benefits that can help you in being a more balanced person, both in work and life.
• You owe it to yourself to take care of your emotional and spiritual wellbeing by giving some time for being mindful.
• You are probably doing ‘work’ right if feel you are getting paid to play in some way, or you feel amazed that people are giving you money for what you do.
• If there are areas of your current work that feel arduous or terrible in some way, consider that this could be you giving yourself useful feedback. How can you act upon it?
• Mindfulness is the key to connecting with the situation you find yourself in as you work.
• Mindfulness can also be related to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of ‘flow’ – which is giving full attention to the task at hand, and the enormous benefits this provides.
• There are a number of ways to practice mindfulness, see above and find which ways work best for you.
• Knowing and doing your ‘Work’/Calling will probably lead to a far more fulfilling life.

One way to do it.